Hammers Knock Toon Down A Peg

02 October 2012 01:57

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West Ham won last night to leapfrog over Newcastle and put the Geordies into 10th spot in the Premiership.

QPR manager Mark Hughes believes he still has the club's backing despite their alarming winless start to the season continuing at home to West Ham on Monday night. The west Londoners sit bottom of the Premier League with just two points from six games after a 2-1 home defeat to West Ham, which heaped more pressure on Hughes.

The Welshman is now the bookmakers' favourite to become the first top-flight manager to leave his post this season, with former Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp a short-odds potential replacement.

Mark Hughes: "I would think I'm safe. We have had a big investment and we're looking to improve this year and we will.

"It is very, very early days but until we get positive results on the board then obviously everything is up for debate and a focus begins to come on the club as a whole.

"We just need to start winning football matches. If we do that, it goes away."

Former Toon manager Sam Allardyce: "We've achieved our first Barclays Premier League away win, which is no mean feat for a newly-promoted team.

"I think the outstanding qualities we showed today both in our ability to take the game to the opposition away from home and our ability to score goals was fantastic to see.

"As the underdogs, having just been promoted, to come to QPR and take the game to them and dominate that first half was great for me to see.

"If I had to say anything, I was a little bit disappointed we didn't get more than two.

"I was concerned ultimately when they scored their goal we were going to pay the price for that, but in the end we didn't of course.

"We knew somewhere down the line the game would change with the substitutes, but we didn't expect [Adel] Taarabt to score a wonderful goal.

"It was a great, great goal and obviously put their tails up but our resilience came in. Our defensive qualities came to the forefront as we have shown for most of the season.

"We eventually saw the game out and I am little disappointed we didn't finish them off, but absolutely delighted we won the game and deservedly so."